Once again, Pope Francis avoided speaking directly about Russian President Vladimir Putin and instead focused on condemning war as a cruel and inhumane act that “goes against the human spirit.”
International News
English Police to Allow Priests to Give Last Rites at Crime Scenes
Police in England have produced national guidelines to allow priests to give last rites to Catholics dying at crime scenes.
Analysis: Brief Malta Trip Captures Challenges of Pope Francis’ Papacy
In another of his “blink and you’ll miss it” overseas trips, generally one or two-day affairs within Europe and the Mediterranean, Pope Francis arrives Saturday morning on the island nation of Malta and will be on the ground just 18 hours, returning to the Vatican by Sunday night.
Pope Francis Apologizes for Treatment of Indigenous in Canada, Promises to Visit
Expressing “sorrow and shame” for the complicity of Catholics in abusing Indigenous children in Canada and helping in the attempt to erase their culture, Pope Francis pledged to address the issue more fully when he visits Canada.
Caritas Ukraine President: To Help, Listen to Your Heart, Then Act
The president of Caritas Ukraine is an American citizen — the daughter of Ukrainian refugees — and yet she has not left Ukraine, even after the U.S. government advised Americans to leave.
Government to Lift Health Measure That Blocks Entrance of Asylum-Seekers
News reports say the Biden administration may lift a public health measure in May that was put in place at the start of the coronavirus pandemic that has kept asylum-seekers out.
Synodal Process Is Cross-Border Event for South Texas, Mexico Contingents
The synodal process bridged an international border March 27 when the bishops of the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico to celebrate Sunday Mass with the bishop of Matamoros.
With ‘Cradleboard,’ Indigenous Ask Pope Francis to Ponder Fate of Their Children
Members of Canada’s Assembly of First Nations gave Pope Francis a “cradleboard,” a traditional baby carrier, and asked him to keep it overnight as he reflected on what happened to Indigenous children who were sent to residential schools and, particularly, to those who never made it home again.
One in 10 Ukrainians Is a Refugee, Half Are Children, U.N. Agencies Say
More than 4 million people have fled Ukraine in the past five weeks, and half of them are children, said two U.N. agencies.
Bridgeport Priest Named Rector of U.S. Seminary in Rome
Msgr. Thomas W. Powers, vicar general of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, has been named rector of the Pontifical North American College, the U.S. seminary in Rome.